MAWMonday Motivators 05/29/2016

Do yourself a favor. Accept your emotions, your drive, and your intentions without judgment or defensiveness. Just admit that they are what they are. Now, recognize your power to make choices that best support your progress toward your goals. Next, make those sustainable decisions. Yes, you may have to work harder than someone else. Yes, it may take you longer than another. Yes, your path may be different. You may have to repeat some steps in order to perfect them. BUT, you will make progress. AND, you will not waste energy defending, repackaging, denying what is true about you. Your patterns of action are the ultimate revelation of your character. You control the actions that create these patterns. Your first action is acceptance. Choice is next. Both, together represent your power.

This week, Twitter deepens the lessons of action and choice highlighting mindset and emotion. Take seriously your power to choose. Choose to be fed, informed, and fearless. Six this week because I didn’t want to leave any of this motivation out.

Bonus. Thoughts are Powerful.
So, think the best. Will it into existence. Worry and anxiety just have not place in your life. Even beyond positive thoughts, planning, and doing what you can. Consider that you have the power to make things happen. I am often quoted discouraging clients from having an “emergency fund” in the case that “something bad happens.” That’s too much negative energy to rehearse in your budget. I encourage “get ahead” money for “progress stash” and for “investment cash.” Even in how you save money, you want to communicate positive energy through your thoughts. Those thoughts really are powerful.

1. Purpose is a Fire
So, attend to it dutifully. May it warm, purify, heat for cooking, and burn for brilliance. I have coached the internal fire of purpose often. I have also recognized the same fire threaten to consume an individual in depression, frustration, anger, and self-defeat. The client recognizes that they could/should be doing better or different. They consider that they are doing something. But, they know that their capacity is greater than they are executing.

The switch needed is in the way you are managing the fire. Invest mentally in the pot holders of preparation, the fire pit guard stones of planning, the heat shields of collaborators, the fuel of supportive people, and the venting of multiple mentors. Use your fire to your advantage. Instead of getting burned, recognize the many benefits of being called to purpose.

3. Mission must Be Shared
So, nurture the positive conversation and the common purpose. Maybe you have reached the point where you are okay with admitting that your mom was right. The company you keep is an indication of your end result. My strategy has always been to challenge my children to be more than leaders. I tell them to be captains. Choose the crew. Set the itinerary. Chart the direction. Plans the stops. Set the sail. Manage the crew. And, if need be, go down with the ship.

4. Fear is an Indicator
So, interpret what your emotions are telling you. Add reason and decipher your next step. My favorite actor said it in a movie, “Danger is real.” Respond to what your senses and your emotion tells you. But, don’t accept a response that is cowardice and self-protection. Challenge the evidence with reason, accountability, and a long-term view. That feeling is a reminder to explore your capacity and the capacity of your team. It is a chance to catch your breath and renew your stores of courage. Double check your plan. Give the marching orders to your team. Make amazing happen where others fear to tread.

5. Failure is a Start
So, never allow it to be your finish. Keep going. The outcome is always better. One of my favorite Bible verses states that “all things work together for the good…”. It is a verse that reinforces the view that the event is not the end. As long as another choice remains, another option is possible. Again, it is your thought that makes the difference. Things don’t work out for the good because it is magical or predestined to be that way. They work out because you will not accept half, mediocre, almost, 2nd place, or defeat. They work out because you keep learning, improving, right-sizing, progressing, and maturing. You choose, and Success is your only option.